Professional Courtesy
by jtav
Summary: Isa was normally so practical, so her decision to let SCORPIO live mystified Lana. A detour to Nar Shadaa provides answers and a reminder that her girlfriend is haunted by more than one shadow.


"You're angry with me."

Lana turned her gaze from the swirl of hyperspace to Isa. There were shadows under her eyes but otherwise she looked remarkably well for someone who'd nearly been vaporized by insane droids. "I'm concerned. SCORPIO tried to kill us more than once. What she could do with the destructive power of Iokath..." The simulations she had run after their return to Odessen had been unusually bloody. "You're normally so practical. What could have possessed you to do such a thing?"

Isa's face froze, and Lana winced inwardly. There were a half-dozen people for whom Isa was Isa instead of the Alliance Commander, and money counters felt privileged to be among them, but there was still so much she didn't know. Old wounds that reacted to strange stimuli, and all the dossiers and all the late night talks still only gave Lana glimpses. And every time, Isa wore that same distant expression. "I had to try. You don't know what it's like to—" She took a deep breath, and when she spoke again it was with the same voice she used to rally the troops. "We've got more important things to worry about. Arcann won't escape me this time."

Lana frowned, but accepted the change of subject. Almost as soon as they had arrived home, one of her agents had holocalled. Arcann had been seen on Nar Shadaa. He was hunting for cybernetic enhancements. "Nar Shadaa has a legion of back alley doctors, but there are only so many that can do what he wants. That ought to narrow it down a little."

"I can narrow it down more." Isa removed a datapad from her pocket and handed it to Lana. "I got this just before we left. Dr. Ka'was, the best cyberneticist in this or any other sector, extends his congratulations to me on my many victories and hopes he can establish a profitable relationship with the Alliance. To that end, he would like to notify me personally that the former Emperor has contacted him and will be at his offices tonight."

"You might have told me before now."

"And spoil the chance to surprise my spymaster? Perish the thought." Isa kissed her on the cheek. Her lips were slightly misshapen by scarring, but they were warm and Lana forgot her worry and allowed herself a moment to luxuriate in the warmth. They'd rushed from crisis to crisis for over a week, and that these little moments of quiet intimacy were all the more precious for that. Someday, someday if they survived, she and Isa would at last have more than moments.

But first they had to survive. "Ka'was. I know him by reputation. The man would dissect his own grandmother for an extra credit." The Twi'lek had been a fixture on Nar Shadaa for over two decades. His skill was legendary, as was his client list. Everyone from a Republic senator to a Hutt crime boss had used his services. As had a young bounty hunter mangled almost beyond recognition when her speeder had exploded. Scars crisscrossed Isa's face, but metal had restored the structure of her cheeks and jaws and allowed her to walk again. "This could be a trap. Either a betrayal by the doctor or a plot by Arcann to lure you away from your allies."

"Let Arcann try. I'm looking forward to having one less problem to worry about." She undid her harness and stood. "I'm going to gear up. Let's see what kind of trouble we can get into."

Lana would never like Nar Shadaa. It was too dirty, the lights were garish, and the scale of crime and corruption was an affront to her desire for order. Five years of occupation hadn't improved the place. Vagrants and beggars choked the spaceport. Holos promised flesh shows of every variety. Shouts in a dozen languages rang through the air. And yet, Isa strode through the throng with an easy confidence. In her gray armor and helmet, she looked like just another Cartel enforcer, but the crowd parted before her. "Sometimes I wonder how you can be so at home here."

"Practice. And there's beauty if you know where to look. You've got to admit that my apartment has a pretty spectacular view." Her gaze rose to the mass of towers in the distance where the planet's wealthiest residents resided and she sighed. "Did have. I suppose the Hutts grabbed it while I was frozen."

Lana smiled. Isa wasn't the only one with surprises. "Oh no. I bribed the appropriate people and arranged for the necessary cleaning and maintenance. Your art, the books, even the holocrons. All waiting for you."

Isa stopped and turned to her. Lana wished she could see her face. "But you hate this place. "

"It was a useful safehouse in the early days." She swallowed. "I didn't know whether you were alive or dead. I needed something of yours." She had spent more than one night, after a mission that she had barely survived, standing on the balcony and remembering arms wrapped around her.

Isa took her hand and squeezed. "You wanted to schedule some alone time? As soon as we're done with the doctor and Arcann, I think we should head back to the apartment. Make sure everything is just how I left it. The helmet distorted her voice, but the low purr sent a shiver down Lana's spine.

"I'd like that," she said.

Lana had expected a renowned cyberneticist to spring for a luxurious office, but the address Isa led her to was a cramped building in the industrial sector. The lobby lights were a bleaching, clinical white. The smell of medicinal fluid clung to spare, uncomfortable looking furniture. A lone Zabrak sat behind a desk. His age was impossible to tell but illness or trauma had bleached his skin until it was almost the color of human flesh. Lana's skin prickled. She had seen this man somewhere before, but couldn't place him.

"You are the Grand Champion?" His voice had been deep once, but now was little more than a rasp.

Isa started. "Nobody's called me that in a long time."

Surprise and something darker flicked across his face before the mask of neutrality returned. "Ah, of course. Forgive me, the world has changed so much. The doctor will see you now."

Lana and Isa looked at one another and Isa's fingers tensed almost imperceptibly. She too you that something was very wrong here. Ambush? Betrayal? She should have been a better spymaster and caught the problem at the beginning, but there was nothing to do now except play the game to the end. "Thank you," Lana said and readied herself to throw lightning.

The laboratory was a clean, sterile white. Slumped in a chair behind the nearest desk was Ka'was. It wouldn't be long before the danger would reveal itself. Lana and Isa ran to him, but Lana arrived first. He was dead, recently judging by the fresh blood. His throat had been slit in a single brutal jab to the main artery. She stood and activated her lightsaber. "I should have known that this was too good to be true. Arcann must have killed the doctor and baited us into a trap."

Isa drew her blaster "I don't think this was Arcann. He doesn't strike me as a bladed weapons kind of guy. I have yet more strange people trying to kill me for weird reasons. Wonderful." Her voice was light, but her eyes were cold, hard, and calculating as she scanned the room. Assessing cover, finding choke points, discovering blind spots. Preparing the laboratory to become a battlefield. Preparing to kill.

"Revenge isn't 'weird'". The Zabrak's voice seemed to echo everywhere and nowhere. "You destroyed my business and consigned me to a fate worse than death for a competition and now you don't even care that you won?"

"What? Who are you? Where's Arcann?

"You left me as a frozen trophy for the Hutts and you don't remember?" His roar was a terrible sound like those of Sith lords who depended on machinery. "I was the most feared assassin on this moon. Maybe I need to kill a few more of your friends to jog your memory like I killed that kid."

"That kid?" Isa went still as the memory of some private pain flashed across her face. "Anuli. I thought you looked familiar...Eidolon."

That explained why he seemed familiar. He had been in a Hutt's pleasure garden for years by the time Lana had been assigned to Darth Arkous, but she had been tasked with discovering all relevant information about the Empire's most successful freelancer. The Eidolon had been one of a thousand images that had crossed her desk, just another target Isa had taken alive at the behest of her client. A footnote—who happened to be a highly-trained assassin who had killed their best lead.

"So you do remember. I've done nothing but remember for almost ten years." His voice rose higher and higher. "They tell me that you spent time in carbonite. Did you relive your worst memories over and over until you lost track of time? Did you beg for death?"

"I did, " Isa whispered and lowered her blaster. "Come out, Eidolon, and we can talk about this. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I know that an apology isn't enough, but I would like to put this right. The Alliance is helping the galaxy. It can help you get your life back."

Silence. It would be nice if he were considering the offer. Fights were always a risk. And the pained, guilty look in Isa's eyes… Lana would have done anything to make it go away. But the world was not a children's story, no matter how pleasant that would be. The violent and angry kept trying to kill and didn't stop until they were forced to. It was only a matter of time before the Eidolon said he preferred vengeance and battle would be on.

"No," he said at last,"You don't get to walk away because you found more powerful friends. We may surround ourselves with the trappings of business or alliances, but you and I are the same. We're warriors. Death is our reason for existence. And I'm going to give you the warrior's death you didn't give me."

Someday, Lana would be wrong.

The lab was plunged into darkness and Lana's lightsaber cast a red glow over the tables and medical equipment. She reached out through the Force. Isa was all fire and ambition and determination, but there was another, weaker presence. Someone who had come back from the edge of death not so long ago. Malice and pride clung to him. He was a creature of shadow hiding in shadow. He couldn't hide from her. "There! On the ceiling."

She summoned all her anger and those who would dare threaten the woman she loved and let fly with a bolt of lightning. The Eidolon leapt away as if he were an insect as powered armor hummed. Isa fired twice. Circuitry sparked, and it wasn't long before the lab was a ruin of smoking equipment. The Eidolon jumped from surface to surface always a little faster than their attacks and always a little closer. _The predator defeating the prey through persistence. If we don't end this soon, we'll make a fatal mistake through sheer fatigue._

"You know, for a guy who is so big on a warrior code, your tactics seem to boil down to running away." Isa fired and missed by centimeters, and the odor of melted durasteel invaded Lana's nose. "Why don't we settle this in a standup fight?"

The Eidolon jumped atop a kolto tank. "A good assassin does what it takes to win."

"That's right." We do." Isa made the slightest motion of her hand, and her armguards whirred. It was a sound Lana had heard many times. Isa's armor was capable of firing every type of personal missile known to the Empire or Republic, and a few that Oggurobb had created. Hypersonic and with a blast radius on par with a thermal detonator. And only Alliance rocket boots or as skilled Force user had a hope of escaping the ensuing explosion. The missile collided with the kolto tank, and in the fraction of a moment between contact and Lana being forced to turn away, the room exploded with light and she saw the Eidolon as he truly was: an old Zabrak whose entire lower body had been replaced by cybernetics and with the tired eyes of someone who had lived too long.

Explosions were a form of entertainment for the citizens of Nar Shadaa, and it was easy to fade into anonymity among the crowd of gawkers. Isa replaced her helmet. Her jaw was clenched, and her mouth was a thin line as she surveyed the ruins of the office building. Lana frowned. If Arcann had ever been here in the first place, the chaos had afforded him the perfect opportunity to escape. The galaxy had been placed in further danger because of an underworld vendetta. If only—

"So Meex lost another building," said a nearby Duros. "The guy has the worst luck. First the Eternal Empire trashes his factories and now this. Shame. He was pretty decent for a landlord on this moon."

Isa flinched and touched Lana's arm. "Let's go home. It's been a long day."

They rode to the apartment in silence. Isa's face unreadable behind her helmet, but she radiated grief and doubt through the Force. Lana said nothing. Even after years as a spymaster, the "why" of emotions sometimes escaped her. She didn't understand why Isa had spared SCORPIO when she had had no problems killing Senya or why the death of assassin or the losses of a corrupt businessman distressed her. All Lana knew was that she was in pain and would explain in her own time and in her own way.

They landed and exited the skycar. Lana had dreamed of this moment a thousand times. She had known exactly how Isa's face would light up with surprise and delight, the way she would trace her fingers over Onderonian statues in reverent wonder. There would be a kiss. Isa wouldn't look as if her mind was in another part of the galaxy. "I'm sorry. I know this wasn't the evening you were hoping for, but I need to be alone for a minute. Could you see about compensating this Meex? From my personal accounts, not the Alliance's. I won't jeopardize the war because of my past."

_Please, my love. Talk to me._ Lana sighed. She tried to make the hand on Isa's shoulder as warm and comforting as she could. Not that she had ever been any good at that sort of thing. "I'm here if you need me."

Isa covered Lana's hand with her own and forced a smile. "I know. And I will talk. I just need to process some things some things." She gave Lana's hand a last squeeze and pulled away to disappear up the stairs.

Lana headed to one of the ground-floor offices. She might have trouble with the niceties of social interaction, but she made up for it with her skill in data analysis. Anything and anyone could be figured out if you had enough information. Even Isa. All the information she had compiled on her at Arkous behest was still in Sith Intelligence databanks.

She began with finances because Isa had asked her to compensate Meex. Isa had an income from her contract work and investments that would have staggered most of the residents on this moon. And equally staggering expediters. Most bounty hunters did, spending credits almost as fast as they acquired them. But instead of the usual alcohol and other frivolities, Isa had spent her time acquiring cultural artifacts from every corner of the galaxy. She possessed one of the largest collections of Sith and Jedi holocrons in private hands. That fascination with the Force and with forgotten lore was something they had shared from the first. Lana smiled at the memory. She had expected a brute was good for nothing beyond expanding her knowledge of war, not a woman with strong opinions on Jedi poetry.

Back to more basic biography. She knew Isa was born on Coruscant, had lived on the streets and had left at age twelve. Hardly an unusual story. The knife still twisted in her chest to read police reports of the dirty, emaciated child arrested for vagrancy. She'd fallen into petty crime on the Outer Rim, as many refugees did, and discovered a knack for violence that brought her to the attention of gradually more influential criminals. She had killed a bounty being hunted by the legendary Braden, who had been impressed enough to recruit her. From there, her rise to Grand Champion and eventually the most trusted enforcer of the Dark Council had been nothing short of meteoric. She had been invariably professional, doing whatever it took to accomplish her mission and showing few emotions in public. Another thing they had shared, to the point that Theron had wondered aloud if they were droids. So many contradictions, and so far from the typical bounty hunter obsessed with honor and glory.

Lana rubbed her temples. A brilliant sunset streamed through the windows and still she was no closer to an answer. This was a mystery to be solved on another day after a good night's sleep. Lana climbed the stairs. The most beautiful part of the apartment had always been the solarium. Isa had decorated it as a sort of retreat, with a fountain in the center and landscapes of planets as diverse as Hoth and Makeb and shrubbery brought in as if to defy the unending urban sprawl below. It was here that Lana had come to meditate when she needed to find the strength to keep going against Arcann's seemingly unbeatable forces.

Isa stood at the window, still in her armor but otherwise looking like neither Commander nor Grand Champion. She looked tired, and Lana's heart twisted. They had asked her to lead a coalition of people who would have cheerfully continued their never-ending war if not for the invasion and to do battle with everything from insane droids to an even more insane Eternal Empress, all while having Valkorion constantly in her mind. Lana had tried to help shoulder that burden as an advisor and provide comfort as a lover, but it was still so much to ask of one person, let alone someone without the Force to aid her.

Lana approached, making her footsteps just loud enough to be heard. Isa relaxed slightly, and she took it as invitation. She put her arms around Isa and rested her chin on her shoulder. Her armor was almost painfully hard, but Lana did not dare pull away.

"This is all real, right?" Isa whispered.

"What?"

"Sometimes, it's all feels like a dream. This apartment, the Alliance, you. Any minute now, I'm going to wake up and be just another blaster for higher. Another Eidolon. Maybe I still am. Maybe I never got out."

Oh. Lana didn't speak for a long moment. Her parents had been moderately prosperous merchants content to ignore their strange daughter before her connection to the Force had manifested. She didn't know what it was like to grow up on the streets or for casual violence to be woven into the fabric of her world. And yet, she was the one who had to reach and bring Isa back to equilibrium. "This isn't a dream. I'm here. I chose you. All that you are."

She gently turned Isa to face her. Her eyes were shining, but her gaze was no longer distant. Lana carefully removed one gauntlet then the other. She traced her thumb lightly over the scarring on the back. of her hand. Isa shivered. "And all that you are is what you've chosen to be. And since I very much doubt this art and artifact collection just appeared out of thin air, I'd say it's much more a part of you than the life you walked away from."

"Thanks." Her smile didn't look real, but at least she was trying. "Maybe if you tell me that enough times, I'll start to believe it."

"It won't be the first time I've had to repeat myself. And it's less annoying to do it for you than for Kaliyo." She threaded their fingers together. "If you were just some sentient weapon, I couldn't love you. I do."

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you say that." Isa looked down at their hands. "A weapon. SCORPIO... I owe you an explanation." Her gaze met Lana's. "She wanted to be more than a weapon. And I...I had to give her that chance."

A hundred thoughts crashed into Lana's mind._ What were you thinking? She's going to use Iokath to kill us all. She doesn't deserve more chances._ None of those were what Isa needed to hear at the moment. "Let's hope she makes good use of it." But Isa needed more, needed some way to help herself believe that she was more than a weapon, too. The Academy was full of apprentices anxious to remake themselves. How did other Sith transcend their backgrounds? How had she made herself into a spymaster when people were so difficult to read?

By practice. By playing the role of intelligence minister and adviser until it almost felt natural. "I think perhaps it's time to discuss what the Alliance will do when Vaylin is defeated."

"You don't think that's presumptuous? Normally you're the one telling me not to count my eggs before they hatch."

"I learned a long time ago that betting on your victory was the furthest thing from presumption. You want to build. The Eternal Throne is going to give you the chance to build in a way that the Jedi would envy. That will be your legacy to the galaxy, not contract work. So I suggest you give it some thought."

Isa's face changed. Thoughtful. Hopeful. "Thank you." She brushed her lips against Lana's. "And you know, I always did want to do something for the Evocii..."

It was a start.


End file.
